Recipe by Chef Heidi Fink
Homemade Naan
- Prep time 20 mins
- Cook time 20 mins
- Ready in 3 hours 40 mins
- Yield 8 small naan
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Stretchy, chewy, browned in spots, these individual-sized naans are cooked in a few minutes directly on a hot cast iron pan. The dough can be made well in advance and kept in the fridge, allowing homemade naan for dinner on a weeknight!
Ingredients
Directions
- In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt, milk and warm water.
- Combine the flour and salt together in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process to combine. Add the butter and process again, until butter is completely mixed into the flour. Add the yeast and process one more time.
- With the motor running, pour the yogurt mixture through the feed tube. Process until dough gathers into a ball. Add a bit more water, if necessary, to help dough gather into a ball. Continue to process dough for about another minute. This will ‘knead’ the dough.
- Transfer dough to a counter and knead by hand for a few more minutes, until dough is smooth and silky. The dough should be very soft. If it seems tough, knead in some more water.
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover, and leave at room temperature for 4 to 5 hours, until dough has doubled in bulk and your finger leaves a dent in the dough that doesn’t fill in at all. (Alternatively, let dough rise in the fridge for up to 24 hours). Flatten the dough to remove all the air bubbles and gently knead the dough into a ball again.
- Divide into 8 equal pieces and form each into a little ball. Set the dough balls on a floured cookie sheet, cover, and set in a warm place for about 20 minutes, until dough is completely soft and relaxed.
- Using your hands, flatten and stretch each ball of dough into an oval about ¼ inch thick. The breads will be about 8 or 9 inches long, and 4 to 5 inches wide. It’s ok if the thickness of the dough is slightly uneven. (Alternatively, use a floured rolling pin to roll the balls out into ovals).
- When you are ready to cook the naan, heat two cast-iron pans on the stovetop until quite hot, but not smoking. Slap two naan directly onto each hot pan and cover. Cook until the naan bubbles and puffs slightly. (This should take about 2 or 3 minutes. If it is happening too quickly, the pan is too hot. If it is taking longer, the pan is not hot enough.) Wearing oven mitts and using tongs, flip each naan over and cook on the second side for another 2 minutes, until golden brown spots are showing.
- Remove from pan immediately and transfer to a platter. Lightly brush each naan with melted ghee or butter, and cover to keep soft and warm until remaining naan are cooked.
- Repeat cooking process with remaining four dough balls. Once cooked, transfer to the platter with the other naan, brush with ghee and serve immediately.
- Naan are best served fresh, but they can be made in advance and reheated. To reheat, place naan on a cookie sheet in a single layer and place under broiler, flipping the breads once, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Individual naan can be reheated in a toaster oven.
Variations
Mixing by Hand (rather than a food processor):
Mix the flour, salt, yeast and butter in a bowl. use your hands or a pastry blender to mix until the butter is completely blended into the dry ingredients. Stir in the wet ingredients and knead well by hand until dough is soft and silky.
Proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
